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Welcome Hope, Horácio, Thunder, and Cobalt!
May 10, 2012
Nearly 1,250 falcon fans from around the world have voted in this year’s Falcon Naming Contest to select names for the four City Hall falcon eyasses! The winning names are:
- Hope (female name) – submitted by Lucy, 4th Grade, Ben Painter Elementary School
- Horácio (male name) – submitted by Mrs. Monica's 3rd Grade Class, Horace Mann School
- Thunder (male name) – submitted by Jet, 5th Grade, Ben Painter Elementary School
- Cobalt (male name) – submitted by Gary, 5th Grade, Ben Painter Elementary School
In addition to having the honor of naming the falcon chicks, the students who submitted the winning names will receive: a commendation from Mayor Reed at a future City Council meeting, passes to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, and a school assembly featuring Glenn Stewart of the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.
Congratulations to this year’s winners, and thanks again to all of the participants in the 2012 Falcon Naming Contest and to all who voted!
Finalists for the 2012 Falcon Naming Contest are Selected
May 2, 2012
More than 80 participants submitted fantastic and creative names for this year’s Falcon Naming Contest, and 10 finalists have been chosen for the falcon eyasses (three boys and one girl)!
7 Finalists for the Boy Falcon Names:
- Horácio – Mrs. Monica's 3rd Grade Class, Horace Mann School
- Hercules – Carla and Kailani, 4th Grade, Holly Oak Elementary School
- Caci – Cindy, 4th Grade, Holly Oak Elementary School
- Sonic – Ms. Ruona's 3rd Grade Class, Baker Elementary School
- Thunder – Jet, 5th Grade, Ben Painter Elementary School
- Cobalt – Gary, 5th Grade, Ben Painter Elementary School
- Striker – Justin, 4th Grade, Holly Oak Elementary School
3 Finalists for the Girl Falcon name:
- Brísa – Ms. Jocelynn's 2nd Grade Class, Horace Mann School
- Aleda – Claudia, 5th Grade, McKinley Elementary School
- Hope – Lucy, 4th Grade, Ben Painter Elementary School
To vote for your favorite names – one girl falcon name and one boy falcon name – click here. Voting closes Wednesday, May 9, 2011 at 5 p.m.
Thanks to this year’s Judging Panel for selecting our 10 finalists for the 2012 Falcon Naming Contest!
Hatching of City Hall Falcon Eggs Mark the Launch of the 2012 Falcon Naming Contest
San José youth are invited to submit names for falcon babies
April 9, 2012
With new mate Fernando El Cohete, Clara the City Hall falcon celebrated Easter Sunday with three of the four eggs hatched, and the last on the way.
As is part of the annual tradition, San José youth ages 5 to 18 are invited to help name the young falcons for the Falcon Naming Contest.
Up to 10 finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges, who will make their selections based on the creativity of the names and how reflective they are of the falcons’ habitat, lifestyle, and the challenges they face each day. The winners will be selected through an online voting process and announced in May before the eyasses fledge.
Participants may submit their nominations by Friday, April 27, 2012 at 5:00 p.m. to mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov or by mail to Falcon Naming c/o Mayor’s Office, 200 E. Santa Clara St., 18th Floor, San José, CA 95113. The finalists will be selected by May 4, when the public will be able to vote for their favorites online. The winning names will be announced on May 11.
Download the submission form  and naming-contest rules
City Hall Welcomed the Start of 2012 Falcon Season
February 27, 2012
City Hall welcomed the start of 2012 falcon season when Clara laid her first egg of this year’s clutch during the evening on February 25 – the same date that last year’s first egg arrived.
Clara is celebrating her sixth nesting season at San Jose City Hall, and her fourth with mate Esteban Colbert.
Falcons typically lay their eggs in 56-hour intervals until a “clutch” of four eggs is completed, so be sure to view the FalconCam online over the next few days to watch as the next three eggs are laid. Access the FalconCam by visiting either of the following:
Falcon fans can also receive updates through the San José City Hall Peregrine Falcons Yahoo! Group  or become a fan of the falcons on Facebook .
Introducing Unita, Hermes, Shadow, and Ahote'!
May 6, 2011
More than 1,500 voters worldwide have chosen the winning names for the City Hall falcons Clara and Esteban Colbert’s four falcon chicks!
And the names are…
- Unita (female) – submitted by Aditya, 2nd Grade, Eaton Elementary School
- Hermes (male) – submitted by Deepti, 8th Grade, Chaboya Middle School
- Shadow (male) – submitted by Vanessa, 4th Grade, Holly Oak Elementary School
- Ahote’ (male, pronounced eh-HO-tay) – submitted by Lesley, 5th Grade, McKinley Elementary School
In addition to having the honor of naming the falcon chicks, the four winners will receive a commendation from Mayor Reed at a future City Hall meeting, a T-shirt provided by the San José Peregrine Falcon Alliance, passes to Happy Hollow Park & Zoo, and a school assembly featuring Glenn Stewart of the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.
Finalists for the 2011 Falcon Naming Contest are Selected
April 29, 2011
Congratulations to the 10 finalists selected by our judging panel! Thanks to the 97 participants who submitted names for this year’s Falcon Naming Contest.
6 Finalists for Girl Falcon name:
- Jasele (means “fast, or swift to take action”, Hispanic origin) – Renny, 10th Grade, Lynbrook High School
- Kiara (means “clear” in Italian) – Naomi, 4th Grade, Holly Oak Elementary School
- Poppy – Leecie, 10th Grade, Lynbrook High School
- Romera (means “wanderer, pilgrim” in Spanish) – Mrs. Olson’s Third Grade Class, George Miner Elementary
- Unita (means “oneness”, Middle English origin) – Aditya, 2nd Grade, Eaton Elementary School
- Vida (means “life” in Spanish) – Natividad, 5th Grade, McKinley Elementary School
4 Finalists for Boy Falcon Name:
- Ahote’ (means “restless one” in Hopi) – Lesley, 5th Grade, McKinley Elementary School
- Cheve’yo (means “spirit warrior” in Hopi) – Julisa, 5th Grade, McKinley Elementary School
- Hermes – Deepti, 8th Grade, Chaboya Middle School
- Shadow – Vanessa, 4th Grade, Holly Oak Elementary School
To vote for your favorite names – one girl falcon name and one boy falcon name – click here. Voting closes Friday, May 6, 2011 at noon.
City Hall Falcon Eggs Hatch
San José youth are invited to submit names in annual contest
April 5, 2011
Congratulations to Clara and Esteban Colbert, whose eggs began to hatch this morning atop City Hall as falcon fans worldwide tuned in to watch.
To mark the occasion, San José youth ages 5 to 18 are invited to help name the young falcons as part of this year’s Falcon Naming Contest.
Up to 10 finalists will be chosen by a panel of judges, who will make their selections based on the creativity of the names and how reflective they are of the falcons’ habitat, lifestyle, and the challenges they face each day. The winners will be selected through an online voting process and announced in May before the eyasses fledge.
Individuals are asked to submit their nominations by Friday, April 22, 2011 to mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov or by mail to Falcon Naming c/o Mayor’s Office, 200 E. Santa Clara St., 18th Floor, San José, CA 95113. The finalists will be selected by April 29, when the public will be able to vote for their favorites online. The winning names will be announced on May 6.
Download the submission form and naming-contest rules .
City Hall Welcomes the Falcons’ Fifth Nesting Season
March 1, 2011
 It’s the start of the falcon season here at City Hall! Clara laid her first egg of the year overnight on February 25, and on February 27 at 10:16 a.m., she laid her second egg.
The first egg came almost a week earlier than last year, when Clara first laid her egg on March 2. In 2008 and 2009, the first eggs were laid on March 13 and March 12, respectively. This is Clara’s fifth nesting season at San Jose City Hall, and her third with mate Esteban Colbert.
As falcons typically lay their eggs in 56-hour intervals until a clutch of four eggs is complete, falcon fans should be sure to visit the FalconCam online over the next few days by visiting either of the following:
Also stay posted on updates through the San José City Hall Peregrine Falcons Yahoo! Group or become a fan of the falcons on Facebook .
Introducing Maya and Kekoa!
May 21, 2010
More than 1,600 voters worldwide have chosen the winning names for the City Hall falcons Clara and Esteban Colbert's two falcon chicks!
And the names are…
Maya (submitted by Megan, a first-grader at Forest Hill Elementary)
Kekoa (submitted by Tiffany, a sophomore at Independence High School)
Voting ended at 5 p.m. on May 13. The winning names were chosen from nearly 130 names submitted by students throughout San José. The finalists were included in a survey on the San José Peregrine Falcon Alliance website for voters to select the winning names.
In addition to having the honor of naming the falcon chicks, the two winners will receive a commendation from Mayor Reed at a future City Hall meeting, a T-shirt, and a school assembly featuring Glenn Stewart of the UC Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group.
The naming-contest finalists were:
- "Artemis" – Michael, age 11
- "Aurora" – Mimi, age 10
- "Destiny" – Cameron, age 10
- "Estrellita" – Lupita, age 9
- "Maya" – Megan, age 6
- "Hunter" – Stephanie, age 9
- "Kekoa" – Tiffany, age 15
- "Milagro" – Angelique and Alyssa, age 9 and 9
- "Perry" – Alanis, age 8
- "Scout" – Jonathan and James, ages 8 and 11
- "Swift" – Katie, age 9
- "Tez" – Rahul, age 7
- "Toofan" – Abhilasha, age 9
- "Velox Vehemens" – Vivek, age 9
- "Vincent" – Paul, age 10
Congratulations to the naming-contest winners, and thanks for your support of the Falcon Naming Contest!
To view the finalists' submissions, click here.
It’s Official: Clara and Esteban Colbert Are the Proud Parents of Two Boys and a Girl!
May 3, 2010
On Banding Day, Glenn Stewart of the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG) rappelled over the top of the 18-story San José City Hall building and into Clara and Esteban’s nestbox to band the three falcon eyasses shortly after 7:30 a.m. With falcon fans and press eagerly watching the action as Clara and Esteban cakked and shrieked at the "intruders," Stewart banded the young falcons quickly and later announced that there were two males and one female, all in "robust" health.
Now that the falcons have been banded, San José students still have until midnight tonight, May 3, to submit names for the young falcons at mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov. The submission form and guidelines are available at http://www.sanjoseca.gov/falcons/pdf/2010FalconSubmissionForm.pdf . Judging will take place on Wednesday to select finalists, and later this week, voting will be available to the public to choose the winning names through a poll on the San José Peregrine Falcon Alliance website at https://www.sanjoseperegrines.org. Please contact Sara Wright at sara.wright@sanjoseca.gov or (408) 535-3887 with any questions regarding the contest.
Annual Banding Day to Bring News of
Whether City Hall Falcon Chicks are Boys or Girls
April 30, 2010
Falcon Banding Day comes more than a week early this year, but the event promises to be just as exciting as biologist Glenn Stewart will rappel over the top of the 18-story San José City Hall into the nestbox of the city’s beloved falcons. Identifying bands will be placed on each of the falcon chicks’ legs for scientists to track and collect data – and after the banding, falcon fans will discover whether the eyasses (young falcons) are males or females. Join Glenn Stewart from the University of California’s Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group (SCPBRG), San José Peregrine Falcon Alliance members and local falcon fans at City Hall for this remarkable event.
To view the news advisory, click here .
City Hall Falcon Babies Hatched
San José youth are invited to propose names
April 12, 2010
Clara and Esteban Colbert are parents once again! Thanks to the new and improved FalconCam system, falcon fans worldwide tuned in to watch as three of the four eyasses hatched on April 10 and 11 in their City Hall nestbox.
Now that the babies have hatched, Mayor Chuck Reed invites San José youth ages 5 to 18 to help name the young falcons. Participating individuals or groups are asked to learn about peregrine falcons, their habits and habitat, and the obstacles they encounter every day.
Finalists will be selected by a panel of judges, with the winners selected through an online voting process. The City will announce the winning names in May before the fledglings fly.
Individuals are asked to submit their nominations by Monday, May 3, 2010 to mayoremail@sanjoseca.gov or by mail to Falcon Naming c/o Mayor’s Office, 200 E. Santa Clara St., 18th Floor, San José, CA 95113.
Click here to download the submission form and naming-contest rules.
Clara Lays Her First Egg of the Season
Delivery came 10 days earlier than expected
March 3, 2010
It’s official: Clara and Esteban Colbert are expecting again! On Tuesday, March 2, at 9:57 a.m., Clara delivered her first egg of 2010 for falcon fans across the world to see.
The laying of this first egg came more than a week earlier than in 2008 and 2009, when her first egg was laid on March 13 and March 12 respectively. As female falcons typically continue to lay eggs at 48- to 60-hour intervals, additional eggs are expected for the coming days. This is Clara’s fourth nesting season at San Jose City Hall, her second with Esteban Colbert.
Thanks to the generosity of individuals and corporations, falcon fans can witness the action live via the upgraded FalconCam system, which now includes a second camera and provides new vistas around the nestbox and City Hall. The FalconCam is maintained by the City of San José in partnership with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California – Santa Cruz.
  
San Jose’s New and Improved FalconCam Goes Live Just in Time for Valentine’s Day
Love is in the Air for Clara’s Fourth Nesting Season
February 17, 2010
The City of San José’s FalconCam, featuring the saga of peregrine falcons Clara and Esteban Colbert from their nestbox atop City Hall, is back and better than ever for this year’s nesting season. Thanks to the work of falcon fans with the San José Peregrine Falcon Alliance, who raised $25,000 from individual donors and a number of corporations from Silicon Valley and around the nation, the FalconCam system now comprises two cameras that provide alternating views into the nestbox and onto the ledges where the falcons like to roost.
Since its installation in April 2007, the FalconCam has allowed San José residents and viewers worldwide to tune in on the daily lives of the two falcons, capturing such fascinating events as the hatching of six of Clara’s eggs and the development of the baby chicks. In less than a year, the FalconCam site had received more than 400,000 hits. For a sneak peak into the lives of the City Hall falcons, click here.
The City contracted with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group , an organization established to restore the local falcon population, constructed the nest box on the south end of the City Hall tower in late 2006. SCPBRG has since worked with the City of San José to maintain the FalconCam.
To view the press release, click here .
Friday is Falcon Banding Day at City Hall
May 12, 2009
Bring your binoculars and your coffee and join falcon fans on Fifth Street for this annual tradition. The City’s partners from UC-Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group will rappel over the top of City Hall and into the nest box to place identity bands on and determine the gender of the four young falcon chicks.
For those of you new to Banding Day, this event generally features dramatic flights by the parent falcons as they work to protect their nest from the human intruder.
After we know the genders of the chicks, the finalists for the naming contest will be announced and voting will open.
Friday, May 15, 2009 (times are approximate)
7:00 a.m. – Researchers prepare for descent
7:30 a.m. – Biologist rappels down to the nestbox ledge
8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. – Researchers determine falcons gender (estimate)
San José City Hall, South side, on Fifth Street off of East San Fernando.
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San Jose, CA 95113
Update from Clara & Esteban Colbert
March 19, 2009
Sometime between noon and 2:40, San Jose City Hall’s falcon mom Clara laid the fourth egg of the 2009 falcon season.
Clara and Esteban Colbert are Parents
March 12, 2009
At 2:05 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, the San Jose City Hall falcons arrived at the first phase of parenthood when Clara delivered the first egg of the San Jose falcon season. Typically, the female falcon continues laying eggs at 1.5 to two day intervals, so we anticipate additional eggs in the coming days. Viewers of the pairs FalconCam watched eagerly from cyberspace as the new egg arrived this afternoon.
Opening up their rooftop nesting box to worldwide viewers of the FalconCam, the San José City Hall Peregrine Falcons have become reality show superstars over the past two years. Now in her third season, falcon mother, Clara, has another new man in her life, Esteban Colbert, named by falcon fans for Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert.
Falcon fans can watch the San José City Hall nestbox live via the FalconCam, a webcam maintained by the City of San José in partnership with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California – Santa Cruz. The FalconCam is online at both:
There are new photos in the City Hall photo gallery: http://www.sanjoseca.gov/falcons/gallery.asp.
Falcon Fans Name Clara’s Handsome New Mate “Esteban Colbert”
February 24, 2009
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As it became apparent that last year’s tiercel (male falcon) Carlos was not returning for a second season, falcon fans have been watching the FalconCam to see if a new beau would attempt to woo Clara. Sometime around Valentine’s Day, Falcon Fans saw their first glimpses of Clara’s new beau, who they’ve since named “Esteban Colbert,” after Comedy Central star Stephen Colbert.
“I’m delighted that Esteban Colbert appeared at City Hall this week, and that he and Clara are hitting it off,” said San José Mayor Chuck Reed, who press reports have noted is an avid fan of “The Colbert Report.” “Like the City Hall falcons, the original Colbert has proven that with primitive instincts and sharp talons, anyone can survive in modern society.” |
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Clara and Carlos
2008
In 2008, Clara and Carlos’ three chicks – girls named Cielo and Meyye and a boy named Mercury – hatched on Earth Day, providing a strong reminder that the species had been close to extinction in California as recently as 1970, when only two known pairs of peregrine falcons remained in the wild in California. Today, thanks to extraordinary conservation work, there are more than 250 nesting pairs, including those at San José City Hall.
Falcon fans can watch the City Hall Falcons live via the FalconCam, a webcam that officially returned on Valentine’s Day. This webcam is maintained by the City of San José in partnership with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Group at the University of California – Santa Cruz. |
